The Show Must Go On
by AnInfamousNightmare
Summary: Taking place after Nancy and Quentin left Badham preschool, Freddy is still in the picture. Or could it all be in their heads? Most importantly, will anyone be there to help them rid the town of such an evil?
1. It's Not Over Till It's Over

**This story is taking place where the remake left off. I decided to put one of the characters from the original movies in this story, which may seem weird. The way I see it, the remake was almost an original story all in it's own. It didn't really follow the original movie in its entirety, so I figured I could take one of Wes Craven's characters. If you think I should leave her out of it, let me know, or if you think it could work. :) **

**I also do not own anything, except for characters I may or may not add.  
**

"Aaaaah!" I screamed my lungs out, thrashing upon the hospital bed. Nurses gathered around me, trying to calm me down. My friend, the only one I had left, tried to comfort me. Only he knew what I had been through.

"Nancy! Wake up, wake up!" Quentin screamed.

I opened my eyes. I could hear my heart beating in my ears, my whole body was shaking, the sweat gathering on my forehead. I saw Quentin and jumped off the bed, ripping out all the wires and contraptions.

"Quentin! It's not over, it's not over!" I told him, putting my hands on his shoulders, looking straight into his eyes. I could feel a rush of adrenalin run through me, and it wasn't from Quentin shooting me up earlier to wake me from that horrid nightmare. That was cleaned out of my system when we were taken to the hospital, I assumed. For a minute I had almost forgotten where I was. Then it flooded back to me. The shot, pulling Freddy out, Quentin had gotten hurt. He looked okay now, thank god. He wouldn't have been able to visit me if he wasn't.

"Nancy, what are you talking about?" He asked. It as if he forgot about the last hours that just happened to us.

"He's not dead! It didn't work! My mom…my mom's in trouble!"

"Nancy! Your mother's at home." My dad jumped in. I looked at him in disbelief, then whispered in Quentin's ear.

"He got her. Freddy got my mom. I dreamt it, Quentin. He pulled her through the mirror, he was there."

"Okay, miss, we need to get you back into bed." One of the nurses said. "Son…" She turned to Quentin. "You're going to have to leave now, she needs her rest." The other nurse that was present guided him out the door.

"Go to my house, Quentin!" I told him one last time. "Check on my mom!"

I laid back down on my bed. I know there was nothing I could do. It was in Quentin's hands now. I know he wouldn't let me down. Wait! They can't let him leave, he was admitted here, too!

"Wait! I need to see Quentin!" I jumped up, only to feel that cold metal wrapped around my arm pushing me back down, that feeling I knew all to well. I tried looking away, but his eyes were far to mesmerizing, and not in the good way.

"Don't worry." Freddy said. He leaned in close to my ear, his warm breath made me cringe. "Your mother's with me now."

"NO!"

"Nancy!" I sat upright, my dad put his arms around me, stroking back my hair. "It's alright, you were just dreaming." But it wasn't alright…I knew better than that. He looked exhausted, dark circle took over his eyes and a frown took over the smile I knew all to well. His brown hair looked like it was starting to turn grey in areas, maybe from stress. It didn't help that I had to pull this one on him. He was almost dreamy, in a Patrick Dempsey kind of way. I was surprised he doesn't have a girlfriend, he seems so lonely. That made me feel so much worse.

"Dad…" I hugged him tight. I felt safe with him. I missed this. Ever since my parents got divorced, this is what was missing. I needed to feel safe again, especially now. But how can he keep me safe from a man that leaves nothing behind. No trace, no evidence. Not even he could keep me safe, doesn't matter how good of a cop he is.

"Quentin!" I told him. "I need to see him! Where is he?"

"Nancy, you need to rest. I don't want you seeing him anymore. I don't know what kind of drugs he got you into, but…"

"What? No…Dad, listen to me-"

"Nancy…they found you with adrenaline in your system-"

"He-he was just trying to wake me up. He saved me." I stared down at my lap. I couldn't look into his eyes, see the disappointment.

"Saved you from what? Who did this to you? Quentin was stabbed, your arm is cut up, they found the both of you outside a burnt down school…what the hell were you doing there?"

"I don't remember." I simply said. It was easier that way. He knew to much now. He'll want to know the whole story sooner or later. He just won't believe it.

"A psychologist is coming to talk to you. Maybe you'll tell her?" He asked.

"Dad, there's nothing to tell!" I yelled at him. He cannot make me talk to anyone. No one would understand! They wouldn't believe!

"Baby, if someone is hurting you, you need to tell me. I can help you-"

"Mom!" I said, suddenly.

"What?" He asked. He was surprised by my sudden change in conversation.

"Mom! Where's mom?"

"Your mother's at home…what's wrong?" He was leaning over my bed down, trying to lay me back down.

"Will you go check on her? I-I had a dream about her…I just want to know she's okay."

His expression was telling me this craziness had to stop. "Nancy…"

"Just go and check on her, please Daddy?" I could tell I was worrying him. I could see it in his eyes. But how am I supposed to tell him the pervert from my past was back and begging for more?

"Alright. Are you going to be okay?" He asked.

"I'll be fine, Dad." I hugged him and tried to put on a smile.

"I'll be back to check up on you, okay?" He said.

"Okay." He gave me another hug and I couldn't hold back my tears. "I love you."

"I love you, too, sweetheart." And he walked out the door. I sat there for a while. I couldn't lie down. Laying down meant taking the chance of sleeping and that meant gambling with my life. But, staying awake meant facing the truth. Sometimes I wish I could sleep forever….maybe I should.

"Then he'll win." I said out loud. "That's what he wants." I had this feeling in the pit of my stomach. I don't remember if what happened to my mother was a dream or reality, frankly I can't seem to separate the two anymore. I knew something was wrong though. How much sleep did I get while in here? 2..3 hours? Less? It was still night time when we got out of that pre-school, that I remember. Either that or morning was soon about to rise. I told them I was fine, insisted I was. I still had to be checked out.

_We stumbled out of the burning building. Cops and firefighters were everywhere, their flashing lights lit up the night sky. They wrapped a blanket around me, then worked on getting Quentin into the ambulance. I sat there with him._

"_Hey, Quentin." I said. "Nightmare's over." I smiled at him. He tried to smile at me, he looked so weak . I just wanted him to get better. Please God let him get better. After this is over I'll ask him about our date, I'll say yes. I laid my head back and closed my eyes. I wanted sleep to come so bad. It felt so good to shut my eyes, knowing I didn't have to worry. We finally pulled up to the hospital and I walked by Quentin's side as they wheeled him in._

"Knock, knock." A young woman stood at the doorway. She had the most beautiful blonde hair and her eyes could probably melt millions of hearts. Her smile was warm and welcoming, but that didn't mean I wanted the welcome. She came over and held out her hand. "My name's Kristin."

She sat down in the chair next to my bed. I sat there, keeping my head down, right away that was a mistake. I could feel myself starting to doze off.

"Nancy? Are you okay? Are you getting enough sleep?" She asked me.

I rubbed my face and shook it off. "I'm fine. Is this really necessary?"

"You tell me." He said from behind. I whipped my head around to see that burnt, ugly face…and that glove. He stood there, smiling…he enjoyed this all to much. "Am I real?"

"No.." I said, keeping my head down. He got closer till we were face to face and put one of his sharp claws under my chin, slowly lifting my face so I could see his menacing smile.

"Wrong answer!"

I Jerked awake. I was still sitting on the bed, Kristin was in a chair next to me, a concerned look on her face. Did I actually fall asleep while she was trying to talk to me?

"Sorry." I said.

"Nancy, why don't I come back later. Your father insisted I speak to you as soon as I could, but it looks like you really need the rest." She smiled and started to stand up.

I grabbed her arm. "No! I mean…it's fine, really. You can talk to me now. I just want to get this over with."

She sat back down, and I knew that if I talked to her I wouldn't fall asleep. I just needed to keep talking.

"Well, I'd like to have regular sessions with you, just once a week. I've heard you haven't been sleeping well."

"I guess not. What does that have to do with anything? I don't understand why you're here."

"I work with the hospital, I also work at Westin Hills. I'm not only a physiologist, but I've done research on nightmares…pattern nightmares, night terrors, reoccurring dreams. Would you like to tell me about last night?"

I did want to tell her. Tell her the truth, everything. She would just think I was crazy, I'm not crazy. She didn't seem like the judgmental type, though. She almost had this innocence to her, she was young, late 20's maybe. Especially when she smiled, like you could tell her anything. I tried to start off not saying to much. "I've been dreaming about this preschool. That's why we went there, me and Quentin."

"What happens in these dreams? What made you want to see the preschool in person?"

I sat there in silence for a minute. I didn't look at her, Just looked down at my hands, fiddling with my fingers. I was hoping that question wouldn't come up. I knew it would though. I can't avoid it.

"Can we talk about something else?" I asked.

"Of course. Why don't you tell me why the doctors found adrenalin in your system." She looked at me with concern. Like I was trying to hide from my problems with drugs. Right now, they were the least of my problems. But when you think about it, I was. I was trying to hide…from Freddy. There was no way I could tell her that.

"I'm not on drugs." I told her. "Quentin was trying to wake me up. I told him to wake me up if he thought I was having a nightmare."

"You and Quentin seem pretty close." She smiled.

"He makes me feel like I actually fit in. He gets me, I really like him." I smiled just thinking about it. But when I remember he was in here, it disappeared. I wasn't sure how badly he was hurt. "Can I see him? I need to see him."

"Let me go talk to the doctor. I'll see if we can work something out." She started to get up, but I didn't want her to leave. I couldn't fall asleep, not again.

"Wait…it's fine. I'll see him later. Lets just talk more, okay?"

"What are you afraid of, Nancy? Tell me."

"I, I'm not afraid of anything. You wanted to talk, right?" I asked. I tried to sound as innocent as possible. Tried to make her believe my words. I couldn't even believe my words. No matter how many times I lied to myself over and over again.

_Freddy isn't real. He is only a nightmare. Nightmares cannot hurt me. It is all in my imagination. My friends are alive. Freddy did not kill them because he doesn't exist._

_My Friends are dead.  
_

"Yes, and you also wanted to see Quentin." She put in. She already saw through me. I didn't like it.

I put my hands over my face, rubbing my eyes, trying so hard not to break down. I could not take being in this room anymore. "I'm getting out of here. I'll go see Quentin myself." I got up and walked out into the hall, only to run into my dad. His face was red, like he'd been crying. I had never seen him like this before. He hugged me, a little to hard and I could feel him shaking. I knew deep down, I knew that he got her. I didn't want to him to say it. I didn't want it to be true. "Dad? What's wrong?"

"It's your mom. Sweetheart, she's gone." He said. He hugged me again. I think I was numb. I could feel nothing. I didn't know what to do, this could not be happening.

"No.." I said. I pushed him away and tried to make a run for it down the hall. Both my dad and Kristin tried to catch up to me. It wasn't until I ran into the doctor that I knew I couldn't make it to the exit. It was the same one from last night when Quentin got me out of there. Now it was Kristin and my dad who were holding me down.  
"I'm gonna need some help over here!" The doctor said. "We're gonna have to sedate her."

"No! Let go of me!" I could see one of the nurses coming over with a needle " "NO! Please don't, please! No! Quentin! Stop it, let go of me!"

"Nancy! You'll be fine! You need to sleep!" My Dad said.

I felt a prick, and then I finally felt helpless. I could feel myself slipping away. I tried to keep my eyes open, but they felt so heavy. How long would it be till I woke up again? God, please let me wake up.

I woke up in the hospital room, again. I almost wish I was dreaming this time. I can't look at these dull walls anymore. Did I actually sleep and not have a nightmare? It was refreshing. I looked over at my dad, who was asleep in the chair next to my bed. It must be nice to sleep like that.

"Dad, wake up." I said. "Dad!"

He jumped up. "Nancy, you're awake." He said. "How long have you been up?"

"I'm always up." I mumbled.

"What?"

"Not long." I told him. "Dad…can I go home now?" It was then that I realized I didn't know where home was. I have always lived with my mom. I rarely went with my dad. He wasn't a bad father…he was a cop. He ran a busy lifestyle and he wasn't home that much.

"They want to keep you just one more night." He said, and he reached over and took my hands. "Nancy, I am so sorry this had to happen."

"Why are you sorry? It isn't your fault. It's mine."

"How could you even think what happened to your mother is your fault?" He asked me. I couldn't tell him that because I actually spoke about what happened to me when I was little is why she's dead. That Freddy killed her. We told, they wanted revenge, and now it's his turn.

"What happened to her?" I asked him.

For a moment there was silence. "She…she died in her sleep. Honey, I'm so sorry." He took my hands in his and I couldn't look at him. I dodge his answer.  
"What time is it?"

"It's about 6. Do you want me to get you something to eat?" He asked.

"Yeah, I could go for some food." I said. The minute he walked out the door I know where my feet were taking me, down the hall, trying to search for Quentin. I haven't seen him since they brought us in. I really didn't know where to start, so I looked in the room next to mine and kept walking.

When I finally saw him, he was sitting up in his bed piling forkfuls of food into his mouth. I stood there for a minute trying not to cry, trying not to be such a baby. When he saw me he got up and he pulled me into his arms, the arms I have been meaning to jump into ever since last night. I could tell he was still in a little pain, so I loosened my grip careful not to hurt him.

"It was real." I whispered. "He isn't dead, Quentin! Freddy killed my mom." Those last few words made it finally seem real.

"I am so sorry, Nancy." He said. "How could this have happened?" He let go of me and his anger started to get the best of him. I almost didn't like this side of him, but I knew it was because he knew it was affecting me, my family, himself and his family as well. He was protective of the people he loved. I think I loved him for that.

"I guess evil never really dies, huh?" I said glumly. I almost wanted to laugh at what I just said because that sort of thing you only hear about in the movies. This wasn't a movie, and I honestly just didn't know what to say. I decided to put my focus on him. "How are you feeling?" I asked.

"My face feels like it's been run over by a truck," From the bruising it didn't look like that was far from the truth. "and my chest still hurts, but the pain medication works wonders." He tries to give a half smile, I could tell he was struggling.

We were sitting on his bed now. I couldn't help but to lean in and kiss him, being ever so gentle and running my fingers across the bruises on his face.

"I don't know what I would do if I lost you." I said. He took his hands and held up my face so I was looking into his eyes.

"You are not going to lose me. We're gonna figure this out together, okay?"

I smiled and tried to believe him. There was a part of me that didn't, because I knew Freddy would destroy me any chance he got, starting with the people closest to me. I got up and started to walk toward the door before turning around. "Can you leave your room? I wanted to go down to the cafeteria tomorrow, there's something we need to do."

"Um, yeah, just come to room around 12 tomorrow, we'll walk down together." He said. His face was puzzled but he knew me well enough now to know I had a plan, or at least a start to one. Because once we are out of here…my dad is going to help us break into police records.


	2. A Rekindled Relationship

**Okay. So I decided to leave Kristin out of this story. It turns out when I really thought it through, putting in a Wes Craven character was not going to work. So her name is now Sarah and she is just a regular psychologist trying to help them. **

The next afternoon I was full of anticipation to tell Quentin what I planned on doing. At the same time though, a part of me had a feeling that I wasn't going to find what I was looking for, that we would never stop Freddy, that our only hope would be to leave Springwood. I know I'm graduating next year, if I make it that far, and I'll be out of here – off to college and on my own. I can't think about that now though. I decide to put the focus back on my plan.

After the nurse came in and checked up on me, my dad hadn't arrived yet, I walked down the hall to Quentin's room when I saw Sarah sitting in a chair next to his bed, in deep conversation it looked like. His eyes darted towards mine and Sarah turned her head to see what he was so interested in. It became nothing quite quickly as I stepped out of view and remained stapled to the wall, shutting my eyes as if that would make me disappear.

I listened for a while when I heard my queue to hide myself in an empty room. Sarah stepped out of the doorway and started to head towards another hall. I finally entered Quentin's room. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to see Quentin or if I could even be out of my room, but since they were releasing me today I didn't see a problem. I still couldn't take any chances.

"Hey." I smiled. My first real smile since I've been here. "Why was Sarah talking to you?"

"I guess my Dad wanted me to talk to her…about my dreams."

"What did you tell her?" I asked worriedly. I didn't want it getting out about Freddy, the last thing I want to happen is to be sent to Westin Hills.

"Nothing, she doesn't need to know anything. This is only my dad's way of protecting himself." He said angrily, I didn't quite understand considering she had come to talk to me as well.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"No one can know what he did, Nancy! What your mom did…" He quickly regretted saying that. "I'm sorry…Nancy. I didn't mean that."

"Hey…it's fine. I almost forgot for a moment. This whole thing just feels like a nightmare, and I'm not even sleeping." I told him. It didn't matter if I was awake or not. _He _was making sure my nightmares followed me. Was my dad trying to protect himself also? Was even there the night they burned him alive? My mother never mentioned it. "Anyway…are you ready to go now?"

"Yeah.." He winced in pain while trying to get out of bed. The cuts on his chest were still sore, surprisingly they were not deep enough for stitches.

"Here, let me help." I grabbed his arm and put it around my shoulder to help guide him out of bed. "Are you alright to walk?"

"Yeah, thank you." He smiled, I really loved that smile.

We sat at a table down at the cafeteria, the louder the atmosphere the better chance we have that no one will stumble upon what we were talking about.

"Okay look, I have this really crazy plan…but I need you to hear me out before you say anything, okay?" I told him.

He was a little puzzled. "Okay.."

"I need to find out what happened that night." I started. "I need to know what the police found when we burned the school down."

"And where do I come in in all of this?" He asked.

"We need go down to the police station when my dad isn't there. I'll say I'm leaving him a note, you just keep the other officer busy. Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah, I can do that. On one condition." He face was masked with a devious smile and I knew whatever he would propose I couldn't turn it down. "We need to go on that date, remember?"

I smiled at him but realized getting closer to him will only make it harder if Freddy wins. "Um, Quentin.."

"You know what, never mind. I shouldn't have suggested that in all this mess." He said apologetically.

"No, it's not that I don't want to. " I lowered my head so I didn't have to look at the disappointment on his face. There wasn't anything I wanted more than to be with him, I wish he knew that. "I'm really tired, can we go back?"

I helped him off the chair and we walked back to our rooms. The whole walk there was an awkward silence and I was the one who made it that way. I don't know why I couldn't just tell him the truth.

"Don't worry, Nancy. I'll help you get those records." He said.

"When are you getting out?" I asked him.

"Tomorrow, they still want to keep me one more night."

How could they keep him another night? Another night means another nightmare. What if he doesn't make it till morning? There's no way they will let him stay awake.

"Hey, don't worry about me okay?" He said. I should really learn to hide my emotions better.

"I don't want you to stay here…" It took all I had in me to try and choke back my tears. I can't keep being this weak, fragile thing that suddenly needs people. That wasn't me. God, what happened to me?

"I'm not worried about me, I'm worried about you." He told me. "Now go home, be with your Dad. Be careful."

"You, too." I said. I headed back to my room.

I decided to rest and watch some TV while they were getting the paperwork around to release me. My dad was sitting in the chair next to me. "Do you know how much longer it's gonna be?" I asked him.

"I'm not sure yet." He said. "Nancy…the doctors said that your cuts look self-inflicted" His voice was worried. Worried whether or not he should approach that subject for fear of how I might act. I had to think for a minute the right thing to say. If I blew up he would know something is off. If I told him the truth, he wouldn't believe me and if I told him the lie, the worse that could happen is more therapy sessions with Sarah, more than twice a week.

I sat up in bed and I don't know why but I just started crying. I didn't know what I was crying about. That Freddy was trying to kill me, that I couldn't sleep, Quentin, my mother dying, that I couldn't tell my dad the truth. It was all of those things I suppose, but he didn't know that.

"I'm so sorry, Dad." I hugged him tight for fear that if I let go he won't look at me the same or maybe that Freddy will kill him if I do, that I might lose him forever. Here…in this place with his arms around me, buried in his chest, I know there is no safer place. Right now I was that 3 year old little girl with my Dad and not a care in the world. Before Freddy, before my friends, before the divorce.

"You…have nothing to be sorry about." He told me sternly, but with a sense of calmness. "Nothing is your fault." I wasn't sure exactly what he meant. The divorce wasn't my fault? What happened when I was 5? My friends' deaths?

"God!" I didn't know where this sudden anger came from, but I stood up and wanted to open the door to leave, but I just stood there." How can you say that? You guys didn't stay together because of me. What happened to me! Where were you? I needed you!" He stood up now and came over to me but I pushed him away. "Why weren't you there, Dad?"

He held my face in his hands and I could see his eye starting to swell up with tears. "I am so sorry." He managed to get out between the cracks in his voice. "He paid for what he did, believe me. He got what was coming to him." He put his arms around me, and I had never seen him like this. I knew in a second what he was talking about. The fire, the one that burned _him _alive. It wasn't anger that rose over me because my mother never told me he was there, but fear because I know Freddy will be after him.

"You're here now." I whispered. All these feelings, I never meant for them to burst out. I've hurt my Dad in more ways than I can count now. I can't blame him because he didn't know how to handle what happened, neither did I. As I grew older, I forgot. My mom kept her mouth shut about it, my dad barely around to say anything.

I must have fallen asleep because I woke up in my bedroom. I instantly got worried, but remembered I had fallen asleep at the hospital, my dad must have brought me out to the car and carried me in the house. I was in and out of sleep, but now I was back at my mom's. I walked down the stairs into the living room, expecting to find him there. He wasn't.

"Dad?" I asked.

The house was eerie, quiet…it didn't feel like my home. I cringed passing the mirror that Freddy had pulled my mother in when I had the dream. I walked in the kitchen, I had no clue what time it was, the light was shining through the curtain and I saw that the clock read 4:00 PM.

In an instant the light started to fade. The darkness had drowned me and I knew that this was not my home.

"Dad?" I yelled. I couldn't move, I didn't want to move. I stood there in the kitchen, listening only to the sound of my heart that was going at a rapid pace.

"Nancy." A voice whispered. I knew that voice.

I'm dreaming.

I ran for the front door, only to find it not opening. I decided to take for the stairs but by the time I got to the top…

"Aahh!" I screamed, grabbing onto the banister as the stairs transformed into a flat surface where I would slide down into the darkness. There was no door leading to the world, there was no room for some big happy family to gather, only blackness as far as his world would go…leading me to something more sinister than my mind could imaging.

My foot was just dangling off the edge. I was almost ready for him to take me.

I struggled to get to the top, using the banister as my guide. Pulling myself up I finally ran for my room hoping this would be the end, I would wake up. I could hear that menacing laugh. When I opened my door there he was, standing in the corner. His claws forecasted a shadow over the walls.

"Leave. Me. Alone." I said.

He just smiled. "I missed you."

He started walking towards me, that's when I turned around to run out the door.

There wasn't one.

There was only the shadow of his claws as he raised them up to remind me who he was.

"You will be mine." There was a certainty in his voice…and I almost believed him. "You're my little Nancy."

"Nancy." I woke up to find my dad standing above me. It took me a minute to remember where I was. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." I said. I tried to shake it off before he knew something was up. "What time is it?"

"It's 4 o'clock. Are you hungry?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah. I'll be down in a minute." I walked over to my desk where a bag sat that contained all my stuff that was taken off at the hospital. There was my clothes, some jewelry..Quentin's necklace, the one he gave me before the nightmare. When I had failed to kill Freddy. I took off the sweats and the awful blue colored sweater the hospital had given me and changed into a pair of jeans and t-shirt. I slipped the necklace around my head.

When I went downstairs I saw my dad had ordered a pizza for us. He never use to be much of a cook, I just wonder what he's going to do now that my mom wasn't around. Sometimes I feel like any minute she's going to walk through the door with a smile on her face, come over to the table, give my dad a kiss and sit down. We'll all eat whatever fancy meal my mother has cooked up and chat about our days. We'll be a family.

I realized that wasn't the case as I sat there, just me and my dad with a pizza in front of us. But I smiled. I smiled because I had him, because he was here eating dinner with me, and he knew I loved pizza. Anything at this point would be better than the food the hospital dishes out.

"So I was thinking of going to school tomorrow." I said. I wasn't sure how he would respond to this, but I knew I couldn't sit in this house all day…falling asleep.

"Are you sure you want to? I would really like you to stay home, but if you feel you're up to it I'm not going to stop you." He said.

"I'm up to it, really. I can't sit at home all day, missing school will just stress me out." What I didn't tell him was I had other plans to go to his office tomorrow during lunch, except I wasn't sure if Quentin would be released by then. My Dad would probably be out getting lunch as well, the perfect time for me to find what I was looking for.

But what was I looking for? Nothing would bring my mother back, my friends. Nothing will ever be like it used to.

"Nancy, you haven't really eaten much. I'm sorry, I know you probably wanted a home cooked meal after that hospital food. I thought maybe having your favorite would cheer you up a little." He look burned out. Tired and upset, he wasn't Mom, but that's why I loved him. He was my Dad.

"I'm sorry. I'm just really tired." I said. "Could I go lay down?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll save some for you later."

"Dad?"

"Yeah, Nanc?"

I walked over to him, gave him a kiss on the cheek and simply said with a smile, "Thanks for the pizza." I headed towards the living room but turned around before leaving. "And thanks for being my Dad."


	3. I'm Done Running

I was sitting at my desk, struggling not to fall asleep. I was finding it harder as nights grew longer. I opened up my laptop trying to find something to keep myself occupied but all I could think about was Quentin. He was all alone in that room waiting for sleep to take over. What was he doing right now? Was he sleeping? Is he trying to fight sleep? Would they sedate him if he did so?

I looked over at my alarm clock, it was one in the morning and I suddenly didn't know how much longer my eyes would stay open. They were getting heavier and heavier by the second. I closed my laptop and stood up, pacing back and forth. After I turned around….bodies.

I wasn't in my room, but a boiler room. The smoke rose from the pipes, the pipes where my friends' bodies hung. The blood was dripping from their wounds.

"Oh my god" I had to cover my nose as the smell of their decaying bodies lingered in the heat. My eyes started to sting as the smell became stronger. I had to take a double look, and I saw him. Quentin was hanging there, lifeless. Freddy had left his mark, but I refused to believe it.

Then there eyes popped open. They all spoke in unison. "Help us, Nancy." They kept talking, louder and louder they got. I had to cover my ears. "Help us, please. Help!"

"Stop!" I yelled.

"Naaaancy..." Then the voices were not my friend's at all, but _his _voice. "Help us."

I turned to run away from ran into him instead. I froze in fear. He should just kill me now, get it over with. "Your God doesn't exist." He smirked. He slowly moved his razor sharp hand trying to intimidate me. I started to back away, not realizing he was leading me into the bodies. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked down only to see Quentin's face staring back up at me, his eyes black and empty. "You killed me." He whispered.

"Aah!" I peeled his arm away and I ran. I ran through the pipes, the twists and turns…until Freddy appeared out of nowhere and whipped out his claws, just gracing the skin on my thigh.

I sat up from my laptop, the screen was black and I winced in pain. I touched my thigh and lifted my fingers up to find fresh blood. "Quentin."

I hurried to get my pajamas off. I went over to my closet, getting an old shirt and ripped it then headed into the bathroom, careful not to wake up my dad. I grabbed a bottle of Peroxide and dipped the t-shirt into it before tying it around the wound. The pain was almost unbearable that I had to bite my tongue to keep from making any noises. I slipped on the clothes that I was wearing earlier and then proceeded to tiptoe down the stairs.

I had to get to the hospital. I didn't know if that dream even meant anything, or maybe that's what he wants me to think. Either way I needed to make sure Quentin was okay. So I hopped in my car and headed to the hospital. I was halfway there when I didn't even know where I was anymore. The atmosphere, the surrounds had changed. I stopped my car to get out and I was in nothing but darkness now. An echoing laugh surrounded me, coming from behind, in front, to my right and I couldn't block it out. I almost thought I saw her, my mother, but her figure was to far away, cast in the shadows. "Mom?" Then I saw bright lights coming towards me, and that's when I realized I was standing in the middle of the street with a car horn blaring at me.

The guy in the car rolled down his window. "Hey! Are you okay?" The man looked at me, wearing a dirty old hat…Freddy's hat. Then he smiled.

I walked over to my car. "Yeah, I'm fine!" I hurriedly got in and started to make my way to the hospital again.

When I got there the place looked deserted except for the few nurses who were getting off their shifts. I knew someone had to come and take their place. I waited by the entrance, pretending to be on my phone as one of the nurses walked by. When she walked through the sliding glass doors I casually walked in after her. I went over to the elevator, reaching Quentin's floor.

I stood in the doorway and I saw him lying with his back towards me. "Quentin?" I stepped closer and put my hand on his shoulder when he turned around, his eyes as black as they were in my dream. I backed away as he sat up…he was coming towards me. His body kept transforming into Freddy…back and forth from Freddy to himself. The hat, the knives, then it was him again, the Quentin that I knew.

Was this real?

He put his arms out towards me. "Nancy!" He said. Then I saw the claws coming towards me. I tried to push him away, hitting him, trying to get out of his grip.

"Nancy! It's me! Stop!" He hugged me and finally it was him. I didn't see Freddy anymore. I looked up at him, but couldn't find any words.

"Nancy…" He said.

"Sorry. I'm fine. I just, uh, I thought I saw him." I said. I rubbed my tired eyes, the eyes that told me I need to sleep. I had to sleep or he'll win. "I'm losing my mind."

"How long have you been up?" He asked me. "And what are you doing here?"

He sat down on his bed now, expecting me to sit down as well but if I sat down, if only for a second, I was worried I would fall asleep. So I stood there.

"I don't know. I did sleep earlier for a couple hours…I don't know why this is happening." I said, running my hand through my hair. "I had this dream, and I needed to make sure you were okay."

"I'm alright. Look, why don't you go to sleep. I've slept for a little while, I can stay up and make sure nothing happens to you."

"I don't know…"

"Nance, you need to sleep."

"But my dad, he's gonna wake up and know I'm not there." I wasn't sure what time my dad usually woke up at, but I had to wake up at 6 for school. "Okay, will you wake me up at 6? I need to go to school tomorrow. I can't stay home" That would give me hopefully five good hours of sleep.

"Yeah. I'm going tomorrow anyway." He said.

"They're letting you?"

"Well, I might miss my morning classes, but I'll be there."

"And your dad's okay with this?"

"It isn't his decision, it's mine." He told me, and he flicked on the TV. I took the bed that was next to his, freshly made and hadn't been touched. I finally drifted away, listening to the voices of some talk show in the background, the audience laughing at the host's jokes. I finally fell asleep.

"Nancy, wake up." I heard Quentin's voice and I sat up, it was still dark out, but I could see the sun just peeking around the corner. I looked at the clock on the wall that told me it was time to drive back home.

"Thank you." I said. Although it felt like I just laid down to go to sleep, I was still groggy and tired and my mind was a little foggy. "I better get going before my dad wakes up." I walked to the door before I remembered, "Um, I don't know if you still want to…"

"I still want to help you get those records, Nancy." He smiled. After all that's happened, I feel so guilty even asking. I know reading about what happened that night isn't going to help me. I guess I just needed to for my own piece of mind.

"Quentin, you really don't have to. I guess it'd just be nice to have you there." I said. "Well, I better get going before my dad wakes up."

I turned to walk out the door before he spoke. "So what time are we going?"

"Lunch, you should be back by then." And I left to go home.

When I got to school that morning, it was so surreal. Everything that happened this past weekend was a blur. Jesse, Dean, Kris…they weren't gonna be here today, yet it felt like any minute I would see one of them in the hallway.

During my first class, which happened to be Psychology which is what I don't need right now, I could barely concentrate. Getting those files was the only thing on my mind. I realized I didn't even want to listen when we got in the subject of dreams.

"It was Freud who believed that dreams were wishes that people wanted to have fulfilled. " The teacher said. "It was symbolism, for example a person or object, that would let us know what that wish was."

As she kept going on all I could think about was how Freud was full of shit.

"With nightmares," She continued. "He saw them as an indication of failure from the dreamer, because the dreamer could not respond efficiently to the situation in the dream."

That's why I didn't believe Frued's theory one bit. Dreams had nothing to do with wishes.

"Most of your dreams occur during REM sleep, that's when dreams are the most visible." She went on. I looked up at the clock, time couldn't drag any longer.

"Nancy!" Mrs. Neely said. "Pay attention!" When she turned around to write on the board that's when I saw four deeps cuts running down her back, the blood seeping through her shirt.

"Nancy." I heard someone whisper. I jumped up to find Quentin in the seat next to me. "Hey…your leg is bleeding."

I looked down to find the cuts on my thigh had opened up. I got out of my seat and hurried out of class.

"Nancy?" I heard the teacher call after me but I was already gone.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and realized Quentin had come after me. "What happened?" He asked.

"I just need to stop the bleeding." I told him.

"Did that happen just now?"

"No, last night before I came to see you." We walked towards a bathroom and I went in to clean myself up as well as I could. When I came back out we both decided to skip the rest of the day. We drove around for a while, stopped at the dinner to get something to eat and then headed to the police station.

"Hey, Lt. Rogers." I smiled at the officer who grew close to our family over the years of working with my father.

"Hey, Nancy. Everything okay? Your dad just stepped out." He said and gave a friendly nod to Quentin standing next to me.

"Yeah, I just have a note for him, I was wondering if I could leave it in his office. It's something from the school." I held up a letter that was in fact from the school, but nothing of importance to my father.

"Sure, go on ahead." He said.

"I'll be right out." I told Quentin. I walked into my father's office and saw a picture of all of us, as a family, sitting on his desk. In the corner were a row of file cabinets that held most of the police records. They were arranged by the year. I opened up to this year and grabbed the file from the night we burned the preschool down. I then looked for the file from the night they burned _him _alive. I couldn't find it. I couldn't find the file on Kris or Jesse, or even Dean's death either. I kept checking the door to make sure no one was coming. I then tried to look through my dad's desk drawers, all but one were locked, and that didn't hold anything important.

I stuffed the only file I could find into my messenger bag and I walked out to meet Quentin. "Thank you." I told the Lt. and we went for my car.

"Take care of yourself, Nancy." He said. I gave him a smile and Quentin and I drove back to my house.

"My dad's home." I told Quentin worriedly. I saw his car in the driveway as he started to pull up.

"We'll go to my house." He said, which was only a few blocks away.

When we got there Quentin went over to the fridge and grabbed a RedBull, holding one out to me. "You want one?"

"No, that's alright." I never did like the taste of energy drinks. "Is there any coffee?"

He looked over at the coffee pot and thankfully there was still some in there, wasn't as fresh but it was still warm. He grabbed me a cup and poured me some then I fixed it up with some cream and sugar. This was the first time being at his house, but it felt normal. I can't be at my house, to many bad memories. The only memory I'll have here is this one…right now, and that isn't so bad.

When we sat at the table I grabbed the file from my bag. "This was the night you and me went into the preschool." I said.

I read: "A fire broke out late Saturday night at was once known as Badham Pre-School. The Pre-School had been closed since 1998, a year after a number of accounts of child abuse had been reported by some of the children who attended. Two teens from Springwood, whose names are to be disclosed, were in the building at the time and claimed that there was another person inside. When the building was inspected there were no other bodies to be found."

There were pictures of the fire, the building from the outside and whatever charred remains were on the inside. I was silent for a moment, trying to comprehend what I just read. 'No other bodies to be found'. Of course I figured that, I was still having nightmares, but reading it and seeing those pictures…

"I don't know why I wanted to do this!" I said. My anger started to rise as I threw the article down on the table. "I can't do this anymore! I can't!" I let out a scream, I didn't mean to, but I didn't know what to do anymore. I grabbed a knife from the counter top.

Everything was foggy.

It wasn't me.

How could this be me?

"Nancy…' I saw Quentin come towards me. "Put the knife down."

"He won't kill me, Quentin. He'll keep me in there with him, for as long as he can. I can't be in there with him!" I was still gripping the knife, I know I should put it down. I can't.

"Hey…you don't have to, okay? You're not going to." He said calmly. I felt the knife slip out of my hands and I dropped to the floor. He came down and put his arms around me.

"I'm scared." I said

"Me, too."

"You are?" He never really showed it. All this time he was being strong for me, and I let him.

"Yeah. I'm scared when I close my eyes. I'm scared because each time I do close my eyes I worry they're not gonna open again."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm not as strong as you. That must be why he…"

"But you are strong. You don't give yourself enough credit. You kicked his ass once before, saved mine. You'll just have to do it again." He smiled.

I got up off the floor. A realization came over me…this is what he wants and I'm handing it over to him on a silver platter. He wants me to be weak, to be vulnerable, he wants to have control.

"You're right." I said. "I'm done running."


	4. Going in Circles

Quentin and I were stopped in front of my house now. It was about 3, the time I usually got home from school. Hopefully my dad wouldn't suspect anything when I walked through the door.

"I'm sorry I acted so crazy." I told Quentin, with a slight smile.

"You have nothing to apologize for." He said.

I paused for a minute, thinking about what to say. I didn't want to leave this car. I didn't want to go into that empty house because although my Dad was there…it still felt empty and sad. Quentin is the only one who knows what I'm truly going through and I didn't want to leave him.

"Quentin, are you okay?" I asked. I've been so caught up in myself, I wasn't thinking about how he was. What kind of person does that make me?

"I will be when he's dead."

"How are things with your dad?"

"Keeping my distance from him. He shouldn't have done what he did."

"You're right, they shouldn't have but it was for us." I said. "You should talk to your dad, he loves you. I could see that when we confronted him. I could see it when he was looking back to that night."

He looked at me for a moment. I wasn't sure what was going through his head, but he just looked at me, not just through me, like he was really seeing me. For the first time I felt seen.

"What?" I smiled, almost becoming a bit self-conscious now.

"You told me, you didn't fit in around here. If fitting in means being beautiful, smart and creative, then you fit in more than you know…I wish you could see that."

I turned away before he could see my face getting red. "I should probably head inside." I opened the car door and turned to say goodbye until he asked me how I knew. How could I see it in his dad's eyes? "It was the same look my dad had. I'll call you." And I went inside to find my dad sitting at the kitchen table. Immediately I grew worried. He looked like he had been waiting for me to walk through the door, he already knows. I read it in his face, I was very good at reading people.

"Hey, Dad…what's going on?" I asked casually

"You tell me. The school called, you missed your afternoon classes. I take it that's when you came to see me."

I tried to think of what to say before I opened my mouth. Does he know that I took the file? There's really no point in lying, he's a cop, he can read people, too. "I wasn't feeling well. I came by to tell you, but you weren't there." That was the truth, I don't remember the last time I did feel well.

"I thought you came to drop off a note from the school?" When he asked me this, he wasn't really asking but telling me, he was telling me what he already knew to give me a chance to come clean. But I didn't say a word.

"What's going on, Nancy?" He asked. He stood up now, looking at me with not so much anger, but concern.

That's when I ripped open my bag and threw the file down on the table. "You tell me, Dad!"

He began to pick up the file and scan over it "You stole a police file..?"

"Don't turn this around on me!" I could feel my voice becoming louder, I tried to control it the best I could. I could feel a lump forming in my throat as I tried to push back tears that were starting to form. "That was the only one I could find that concerned _him_." I told him in a cocky manner.

"What on earth are you talking about, Nance?"

"Don't act like you don't know! Freddy, Dad! Freddy!" That was the first time I had ever said that name out loud to my dad and for a second I almost regret saying all of this. "That's why we were there. He wanted us to find that place, to remember."

"Nancy, I don't understand what you're trying to say."

"Freddy Krueger is back, and you know it don't you? That's why there's no files on Kris, Dean..or Jesse."

"Those files…we don't keep them all in one office." He began to tell me. "And Freddy Krueger is dead, Nancy."

"That's what I thought, too, after all…you did burn him alive." I though what I said might have been a little harsh, but it was the truth. I wasn't mad at him, but maybe a part of me was because I knew he was a target along with Quentin's dad.

"Nancy…you need to get ready. You have an appointment with Sarah, remember?" That's all he said when he left the room. I was left standing there alone with our conversation playing over and over in my head. Did my Dad know what was going on? Or maybe I am really crazy.

The whole ride was silent. I wanted to apologize, I felt bad. I made him feel bad and it seemed like I was always doing that.

"Dad? I didn't mean what I said back there-"

"I know." He interrupted. "Nancy, I have to live with that every day. It isn't something I'm proud of. When I found out I couldn't protect you…"

"Can we not talk about that?" I asked nicely. "There wasn't anything you could have done, and I don't blame you." I was going to have to try to protect him now. I cannot let _him_ take the last two people I care the most about.

We finally pulled up in front of the building, but I was hesitant to get out.

"Dad, please don't make me do this." I said.

"I really think this could help you, Nancy. Do it for me at least?"

It took me a while before I answered, although I knew he wouldn't give me a choice. "Okay. I will." I got out and headed up the stairs when I heard him yell out the window.

"I'll pick you up in an hour!"

I smiled and waved as he drove off. My feet didn't move. I was at a point where I had to decide to go in or leave. There was no way I needed to be here. Freddy was the only one hurting me, but I couldn't tell her that. I didn't know what was worse; People thinking I was hurting myself, or people thinking I was crazy for bringing up someone who was supposed to have died. Nothing made sense…this just can't be real.

I was almost ready to go inside to get out of the humidity, but I decided to leave. I could walk to Quentin's although that would take at least a half hour by foot. Instead I started to walk to a park that I know isn't too far. With each step I took though, the heat was making me groggy and even more tired than I already was.

In an instant fear took over me. I couldn't recall how to get to this park, even though I've been there before. I looked around frantically and came to a road that seemed familiar enough. I took out my phone to call Quentin in hopes that he could calm me down.

"Hey, Quentin," I said, trying not to sound too nervous. I could hear his voice but only in fragments.

The phone was breaking up.

"Quentin, are you there?" I said again. It wasn't him that time.

A deep, raspy voice could be heard on the other end. He kept repeating the same word…over and over again. It was hard but I finally made out the word.

Die. Die. Die.

That's when I looked at my phone and I realized I had crossed a street. For a second I couldn't remember how I got to the park.

Or why I was staring down at the phone in my hand.

Then it all came flooding back to me, like trying to remember pieces of a dream. Was I just dreaming? Immediately I called Quentin.

"Hey, it's Nancy. This is going to sound strange, but did I just call you?" I asked.

"No…what's wrong?" He asked confused.

"I'm really scared right now, can you come pick me up?" I told him where I was and I was relieved because I shouldn't have to wait that long for him to arrive.

I sat down on a bench and I couldn't stop my hands from shaking. I finally saw his car pull up and I climbed inside.

"Nancy, what happened?" He asked. We were still parked and all eyes were on me now which made me feel a little uncomfortable. I felt silly even when I tried to explain to him what happened. How I called him, but it wasn't his voice. How I lost my way, although I've been down here plenty of times.

"It sounds like you blacked out," He told me.

"That sounds impossible, I was walking. I made it to the park."

"But you barely remember how. And Nancy…you never called me." He looked at me and I could tell he was afraid for me. "Or it was just an hallucination..a micronap maybe?"

None of these things he was telling me were making me feel any better. "It was so weird, I didn't remember why the phone was in my hand at first. But then it felt like waking up in the morning and trying to remember a dream…or when it use to feel that way."

I always remembered Freddy's dreams. Except this one was different.

"You know, my dad said that the files aren't kept in one office, which makes since now that I think about it. Where do you think they keep them?"

"Probably a place where you can't get to." He smiled a little, reading my mind because he knows I want to go back now. "What would you expect to find? Something else that you're not going to like?"

"We need answers here, Quentin, we're going in circles."

"You're not going to find them in records. It's not like this guy leaves a trace." He said.

"Well he doesn't make them look like accidents either. Except for Dean…Dean they called a suicide. What I want to know is how they explain Kris or Jesse's death." I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. "Someone down in that police station knows what's going on…there has to be at least one person who knows something isn't right in this town."

"I guess you want to go back." Quentin said.

"Yeah, we're going back." I looked at the time on the radio. I hadn't realized how much time had gone by. My dad would be there in about 10 mintues. "I better get back before my dad does."

When Quentin dropped me off I had seen my dad turn the corner just as he was leaving. I cut it to close. I had a feeling Sarah would eventually let my dad know I didn't attend my session, but I didn't care at this point. I had more important things to worry about.

When I hopped in the car my dad asked me, "So how did it go?"

""It was alright." I simply said and I just dazed out the window. The less I spoke the better, but I have a feeling he would've liked to know more. Here is what I know:

My mother is dead.

My friends are dead.

My dad is in danger.

Quentin is in danger.

I need to protect them…somehow.

It's best if I just keep that in my head.

When we got home my dad had dinner ready on the table. This made me feel even guiltier for lying to him about my session. It looked great, too, a small chicken for the two of us and mashed potatoes.

"You know, I was really happy about making this. I never got to cook a good meal when I was by myself." He said, as we sat down to eat. Dinners for him were normally ones that came out of a box, or a carton.

"Why did you guys get a divorce anyway?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing. Although it affected me a lot more than they know.

"We just, we became different people. We weren't _in_ love anymore. I always loved her though, because she was your mom. She was a good mom." He smiled.

"How did she die?" I knew the answer to this, but I thought there might just be a slim chance that it wasn't Freddy.

"I told you, remember?"

"You told me she died in her sleep, but how does someone so healthy just pass away in their sleep?"

"I don't know, honey." He said. Again I had that feeling something was off. But I quickly dismissed it.

"I'm sorry, here I am ruining this dinner you just made." Then mumbled, "Like everything else.."

"You're not ruining anything." He said, and switched the topic. "So how is your job going at the diner?"

"Considering I don't get any weekends, it's great." I joked. Having a normal conversation with my dad was something that rarely happened and it was a nice change.

"You should quit. I know you want the money but you should focus on school, be a kid a little while longer."

And then, something would always bring me back to the dreams. Just when I thought I could avoid it, just once. If quitting were only that simple, this job was helping to keep me alive. The more I could do to stay awake the better.

"It's alright. I hate asking you and mom for…" I stopped when I realized what I had said. "Money." I finished. It was still hard to think that she wasn't here anymore. Hopefully soon a normal conversation for us will actually _be_ normal.

After dinner I had headed over to Quentin's. I had to be back at my house by ten, but at least we could help each other stay awake…if only for a couple hours.


	5. Scared For You

When I got home from Quentin's last night I didn't sleep, not even for a second would I allow my eyes to close. What day was it? I could barely keep track of the days…the nights. Wondering how long I've been up, how long it was until I needed to shut my eyes before I had a mironap. I decided to jump in the shower quick before school. I stood there for minute, letting the hot water take over me. I leaned my body against the wall as exhaustion was hitting me from not having slept since the night before last. The lights started to flicker, the darkness teasing me.

"Dad?" I called out. Then I realized he had already left.

The lights finally came back on. When I went to go turn the knob to shut off the water they just kept turning, and turning and the water kept gushing out so fast I barely had time to think. The shower curtain wasn't moving, allowing the water to envelope me. I searched frantically for an opening but I had no luck. I kept clawing and tearing away at what was supposed to be cheap plastic.

"Help!" I yelled out. Although I knew no one could hear me. "Oh my god! Let me out!"

The water made its way to my stomach.

My shoulders.

It was only until I had finally gotten it open that the water rushed out taking me with it. I stood up on the wet tile floor looking into the mirror…only to see that burned face looking back at me with a smirk of evil. I stepped back and screamed until the screams turned to coughs as I found myself leaning over the tub, the water still running down on me. I reached over to turn off the water and sat there for a minute. Then I let out a scream, not out of fear but out of anger.

Quickly I got dressed and walked over to Quentin's house, coffee just wasn't cutting it anymore.

"Hey. Did you ever get a refill on those pills?" I asked him when he opened his door. There I stood, my hair still wet, dark circles under my eyes. I barely looked at him. He took me in and handed me a single, white pill.

"Are you sure you want one?" He asked.

"Yeah, and maybe a cup of coffee, too?"

He handed me the pill and I chased it down with the coffee that warmed my insides. We sat at a table when he asked me what happened. But I was tired, I was tired of talking about my dreams and I was just tired of being tired all the time.

"Nothing, you were right. I'm running out of fumes. I need something to keep me awake." I told him. I could tell he knew there was more to it than that but he let it go. "when was the last time you slept?" He looked more worn out than usual. It seemed like he would fall asleep at any moment.

"Um, I don't know. I'm fine, really." He said.

"Why don't we go to school, then we'll come back here at lunch and maybe you can get some sleep. I'll watch you." I suddenly blushed when I realized how that came off and got up to pour more coffee into my cup.

"I can't skip anymore. My dad's been on my back." He said.

"Oh.." Was all I could get out. The only thing we can do now is go to school, try to stay awake…and try to figure out how to kill _him _before he kills us.

"Well I'm gonna go down to the police station again during lunch, try to see where they keep the other files. I just don't understand why they don't keep them in one place." I said.

"Maybe the files in your dad's office are ones that he's working on."

"Maybe.." I sat down my cup on the counter and started to head towards the door. "I'll see you at school Quentin."

I walked into my house to pick up my books that I left after rushing to Quentin's house. When I walked through the door I bumped into my dad, I barely noticed his car in the driveway.

"Whoa…I thought you left for school?" He asked.

"I forgot my books."

"You weren't at Quentin's again, were you?" He gave me a stern look. "You know I let you go over there last night, and maybe that wasn't such a good idea."

Anger rose over me, and of course my mouth decided to speak without letting my brain think about what I was saying first. " Great…now you start to be a dad." I instantly regret it and the feeling I had in the pit of my stomach wasn't going away. I started to walk up the stairs to my bedroom when my dad finally broke the silence.

"You know…I'm really trying here, Nancy. I need a little help. We need to start communicating here. I can't read your mind…so if you're mad at me-"

"Can we communicate after school, please, before I'm late?"

"Go get your things, I'll give you a ride on my way back over." His expression was a little disappointed, hurt and angry all at once. I know he wanted to continue talking, and I knew I wasn't gonna get off that easy.

"How come you were home?" I asked him during the car ride to school.

"Those files that you took from my office, I had to go back and pick them up." He told me, with a tone in his voice hinting that it was my fault he had to drive back to the house.

I rested my head against the car window, watching all the houses go by, watching all the other people and how their lives must be so normal, wishing for just once that I could have some bit of normalcy in my day.

"We're here" He nudged me. "I could feel sharp metal on my shoulder. For an instant I didn't want to look up to see that it was Freddy who was driving the car. The doors suddenly locked and I was struggling to open the passenger's side. I got as far against the door as I could and I was starting to feel a sense of claustrophobia as his huge body leaned over top of me.

"Now we can play." He smiled.

I turned my head to look away as he started to raise he razor sharp claws, slowly intimidating me. He moved his clawed hand slowly down my arm, I could feel how cold the metal was against the cloth of my shirt. Then he whispered in my ear, "Sweet, Naaancy…"

"Nancy!"

"Get off of me! Stop!" I was swatting and hitting the arms that were on my shoulders until I realized it was my dad and we were parked in front of the school.

"Nancy, it's me!" He gave one last attempt to try and calm me down when I finally stopped yelling. I sat there and looked down at my feet before running a hand through my hair, trying to get my eyes to focus back on the real world.

"I'm sorry." Was all I could say to him.

"Nancy…maybe you should stay home today." He said with a pang of worry in his voice.

"Dad, I can't-"

"Nancy, you look like you haven't slept in days, you look sick. Look...I can't drive back home now so why don't you go with me to the station and I'll bring you back during my lunch break"

Usually I would decline at this, but maybe I could get some information while I'm there.

"Fine."

"Nancy…you know you can tell me anything right?" He asked.

I wasn't the type of person who liked to tell people how I felt. I didn't like looking into their eyes and having them stair at me like they were trying to look deep into my soul. My dad was trying to look at me while he was keeping his eyes on the road, and I just felt embarrassed and almost ashamed…which is silly because I know I have nothing to feel ashamed about. But how could I possibly tell him I was having these dreams of a guy who he burned a long time ago…who was dead? I've thought many times about making something up. Like I was sad because of my mom's death and that the cuts on my arm were self-inflicted. Whatever I tell him, the lie or the truth, it's going to hurt him.

I simply said, "I know, Dad." And I did know, I guess I was just waiting for a time to tell him.

When we got to the police station I threw my bag in my dad's office and went to grab a soda out of the machine.

"Hey, Nancy! Spending the day with us?" Lt. Rogers smiled.

"Hey, Lt. Rogers." I gave him a smile in return. "I guess that's the plan."

"Nancy, call me Ben, Please." He chuckled. "I've known you since you were born."

"Okay, Ben." I laughed. A real laugh.

"There's that laugh I remember."

I playfully rolled my eyes and started to walk to my dad's door of his office. "Dad? What am I supposed to do for 4 hours?"

"Nancy?" I heard Ben call my name and looked over to see that he was holding a deck of UNO cards.

"UNO?" I smiled. I was happy that I knew someone here that could keep me preoccupied. He was like an uncle to me, although he didn't come around the house as much as he use to when I was younger. We sat down at a table and started to play.

"Don't you have work to do?" I asked.

"Nah, that's what I got your dad for." He winked, obviously joking.

"So you just happen to have a deck of UNO cards lying around"

"On days like this aren't you glade?"

As I scanned the deck of cards I had, to many as a matter of fact because I always seemed to be bad at UNO, I saw that they were all red and green…and in that order. I rubbed my eyes to only have the colors go back to normal.

"Are you okay, Nancy" Ben asked.

"Yeah…I'm just a little tired."

"Well we have a nice couch over there, all empty waiting for you." He smiled, pointing to the couch that did in fact look pretty comfy, sitting in a small area of the room near the vending machines, and that is why I had to turn down the offer.

"Thanks, but I think I'll be alright." I lied.

"Nancy…I'm really sorry about your mother." He said after a little while of silence as we started our second game.

I nodded to let him know that I appreciated his sincerity.

"You know, I know I haven't been around much but I'm always here…for you and your dad. If you ever want to talk or anything."

I thought about that offer, and wondered how much I could really tell him. "Um, do you think, maybe, I could talk to you now?" I asked nervously.

He led me back into his office and closed the door so we could talk in private.

"You know, you're a pretty strong girl, going through what you've been through." He said.

"So I've been told."

"What's going on, Nancy?"

"I need to ask you about some files…Jesse, Dean and Kris. They were my friends and I-I just want to know what happened."

"I'm sorry, Nancy, I thought you were already aware of what happened to them. You know I can't show you those files."

"I think they were killed, and so does Quentin.." I looked up at him, my face pleading for him to help me since he might be my last chance.

"Why don't you wait here for a minute." He said, and walked out the door, closing it behind him. I should just leave, walk out of here. I blew it and now my dad and him probably think I'm nuts.

When he walked back in he was holding three files in his hands and he sat them down on the desk that was between us. They were the files of Jesse, kris and Dean.

"I really shouldn't be doing this, but I want you to try to find some sort of piece of mind." He opened them up and laid them out while he told me what the logical explanation for them dying was. "Dean killed himself, Nancy, Jesse killed Kris, and one of the inmates somehow passed through the guards with a weapon on him…Jesse had the misfortune of sharing a cell with him."

"No…Jesse would never hurt Kris." I shook my head. "I was never good friends with him, but I know he would have never lay a hand on her. He loved her."

"Nancy…"

"What about my mother?"

"You know she died in her sleep, you're father told you that." He looked at me with a sad smile.

"No…someone killed her in her sleep. And you all are just oblivious to it." I stormed out of his office and went to go grab my bag from my dad's office.

"I'm going home. I don't need to be babysat." I said, and left without saying another word.

"Nancy!" I heard my father call after me, but I was already out the door. I'm sure Ben is going to tell my dad about our conversation, and I was surely in for a lecture when he comes home. The walk to the house seemed to drag on forever and I couldn't help thinking to myself that maybe this is all in my head. Some days I wish it was all in my head. I wish I could wake up. Any second I would wake up in my bed and walk downstairs. My mother would be making breakfast and we would sit down to eat together.

I was still here, I didn't wake up.

Later that night, my dad had gotten home a little later than usually. I was sitting out the cough watching a movie when he walked in.

"Don't worry, I stayed here the whole time you were gone." I told him, not sounding mean. I wanted to let him know that he could still actually trust me, and I didn't want to lose his trust.

"Nancy…" He started, and sat down next to me. "Ben told me what happened today. He said that you think someone killed your mom." He had to choke out those last few words.

"Dad! You don't even know what's going on!" My voice rose as I got up from the couch and looked away, trying hard to hold back a heap of tears that just wanted to pour out.

"Tell me! Please, sweetheart, let me help you!" He put his hands on my shoulders and turned me around so I was facing him now.

"You can't! And I don't know what to do anymore! Every time I dream he's there, Dad."

"Who is, honey?"

"Freddy! He's real, and I know you don't believe me. _He _did this to me!" I held up my shoulder that was still bandaged from the night of the fire. I sat back down on the couch, feeling a little dizzy now. "He's real, he's real in my dreams. I'm scared…"

"You don't have to be scared." He said softly. I was crying now and my dad came over to me and put his arms around me, and I just buried my face in his chest trying to hide from everything I possibly could.

"I'm scared for _you. _Please don't let me sleep…I don't want to sleep right now.' I whispered. He held me until I finally did pass out. I wasn't sure how long he waited until I feel asleep and he carried me up to my bedroom. I also wasn't sure if I wanted to make it through the night to face him in the morning.

* * *

**Whoa..I'm still here! Haha.  
I know it's been a while and I apologize. Also this is kind of a short chapter, but I had to give you guys _something!_**  
**I've been having a hard time trying to figure out where I want this story to go. I'm at a loss, haha. But I will hopefully give you guys more here soon. And more Freddy scenes. **


	6. You Killed Me

The next morning I woke up and opened the door to my room, only to find myself standing on cold, hard metal surrounded my steaming pipes. I kept walking, trying to work around this boiler room that was more of a maze. I heard footsteps in the distance, but they were becoming louder and louder with each step. My heart was beating faster and I wasn't sure if the specks of sweat on my forehead were from this heat or because of fear.

"Leave me alone!" I yelled. I could hear the tremble in my voice as the echo bounced off the walls.

I could see a shadow coming up a pair of stairs that I froze in front of. I could make out the hat, and as he approached closer the longs knives on his hand. Just like that he appeared in front of me.

"You're all alone now." He smiled. He started to walk closer as I took a step back.

"No…I'm not!"

"You will be." He laughed. He teased me with those nails hanging down at his side, moving them in such a way as if an animal were about ready to attack its prey.

That's when I jolted in the other direction. I ran through all the twists and turns, listening to my feet slamming against the ground. Suddenly I was in the air and my back meet with the metal. I lay there for a minute, trying to get my eyes to focus and I sat up, rubbing the back of my head to ease the pain. I looked down and ran my finger in a liquid substance that was on the ground that I must have slipped on. My finger was red and it didn't take long to realize it was blood. I stood up slowly, feeling a little dizzy from the fall and looked ahead of me to find a trail of blood leading to another area of the boiler room.

"Nancy." I heard my name whispered and looked up to see that my mom was standing there ahead of me.

"Mom?" I started to walk down the trail towards her when she turned around and walked out of sight. I ran after her, and when I came to the end of the trail I stopped short.

Kids…my age all stood there. They were bloody and rotting. Some I could make out. I had seen them before…when I was looking them up online. They were all kids from Badham Preschool.

They all looked at me with sorrowful expressions.

"Oh my god…" I cried. As I backed away I ran into someone and turned around to find that it was Quentin.

"Quentin?"

"Nancy…help me." He started to drift away from me. He was disappearing right before my eyes until he was gone.

"Quentin?!" I looked around to try to find him. "Quentin!"

"Nancy!" I heard Quentin scream. I felt helpless. His screams were echoing all around me, and I couldn't do anything about it.

"Leave him alone!"

Then I head _his _laugh all around me. They were becoming louder, too much for me for me to handle. I covered my ears and tried to drown it out with my screams.

"STOP IT!" And they did stop. I started running, but I didn't even know where I was going. I wanted to wake up. I stopped to look at the pipe next to me. You could feel the heat coming off of it. I got ready to do what I thought was the only thing to do. I lifted up my arm, but then I felt a hand gripping my wrist. I saw a flash of his red and green stripped sweater when he flung me against a wall. I lay there feeling like I had just been run over by a mac drunk.

He came closer to me.

And closer.

Until he hovered over me, but the only thing I could make out were blurs of his burnt flesh. He leaned into my ear.

"You don't wanna leave so soon? Do you?" He said. "You shouldn't leave your boyfriend alone."

He laughed and I shut my eyes. I was trying to picture myself in my room, hoping I could get out of this.

"Wake me up!" I yelled.

"Nancy! Honey, you're dreaming, wake up!" I heard my dad's voice as I was trying to fight him off of me. When I finally realized I was in my own bed all thoughts went back to my dream…and Quentin. "Nancy…are you okay?"

"Quentin!" I said. I hopped out of bed and ran downstairs. My father was close behind me.

"Nancy! Wait!"

I was running down the side walk. My head was pounding and my stomach was in knots. I couldn't hear my dad anymore, I wasn't even sure if he was behind me until I saw his car following me down the road.

"Nancy, stop! Nancy!" He said through the car window.

I didn't stop until we were at Quentin's, and I saw the ambulance, police and the flashing red lights that surrounded his house. My dad got out of the car and came over to me.

"Stay here!" He said, and went over to a pair of police officers that were on the scene. I didn't see Quentin. Was he in the ambulance? Was he still inside? Is he even alive? These thought ran over and over in my head while I just stood there not knowing what to do. I should have been with him.

"_You shouldn't leave your boyfriend alone." _Those words flashed through my head.

My dad started walking back over to me, and the ambulance was getting ready to pull out of his driveway and I saw Quentin's dad get inside. He looked at me for a minute, almost like I could have caused this somehow.

"Nancy…Nancy look at me." He pulled me towards him so I was facing him now. "I will take you to the hospital. If that's what you want, I'll take you. They don't need me today."

"That's what I want." I told him.

As we entered the waiting room of the hospital Quentin's dad came over to me with a look of anger in his eyes.

"Why are you here? You do this! All of a sudden he started hanging around you…now he's in a coma." He said.

"What?" I asked. I heard him, loud and clear, but I didn't want to believe the words he just said to me. A coma…permanent sleep.

"Hey! This isn't Nancy's fault! You should keep an eye on your son." My dad said, standing between us.

My dad took me by the arm to guide me out the door. "Let's go, Nancy."

Suddenly my dad took a hit and he was on the ground while people were rushing over to see if he was okay, and the security guard was holding back Quentin's dad. I could only stand there in shock because I had never seen his dad with so much anger…to me he was just the principle.

My dad stood up and wiped his lip of fresh blood.

"Dad?"

"I'm okay, Let's go."

"It's your fault!" I screamed at him. The crowds of people were still around us, waiting to see if someone else were going to strike, making sure that no one did.

"Nancy…it's time go." My dad said, putting his hands on my shoulders to pull me outside.

"If you wouldn't have killed Krueger this would have never happened! You were the one that started it all!"

He looked at me, somewhat confused but the anger still covered his face. My dad finally got me outside when I pulled away from him and hurried inside the car, slamming the door.

"Nancy.."

"I don't want to talk, dad."

The ride home was silent, but once we were there my dad did not want to let what I said go. He didn't want to let last night go either. I just wanted to be alone.

"Nancy, don't go upstairs. We need to talk…now." He said. I turned around and saw the red and green sweater looking back at me. He smiled at me.

"Please…why won't you leave me alone?" I asked him. "We had nothing to do with what happened to you!"

"No? You..killed…me!"

"You deserved it!" I instantly regret saying that. He walked towards me with eyes full of such evil and hate. He pushed me up against the wall and took one of his knives, running it over the cloth of my shirt that was covering my stomach. He started to push the end of it close to my ribcage, making me wince in pain.

He starting to go downwards now, slicing at the skin, breaking it apart.

"Aahhhh!" I screamed and sat up. We were parked in front of the house now and my dad looked at me worried. I held my stomach, feeling the pain of his knife.

"Nancy, what's wrong?" He started to touch my shirt, he could see the red that was coming through.

"Stop!"

"Nancy? Let me see, now!"

"It's nothing! I just scratched myself last night…It probably didn't heal." I got out of the car and my dad followed me. I ran up to the bathroom and locked the door. I slumped myself down onto the floor, trying to drown out my dad's voice. I was so tired, so weak and I hated feeling this way…which lately has been all the time.

"Nancy, let me in!" My dad yelled, pounding at the door.

"Dad…I'm fine." I said dully. I could feel myself becoming tired again, it took all the strength I had in me not to lean my head against the sink and shut my eyes.

"Nancy!" I heard more pounding, and then I heard the scuffle of feet as he walked away. After a while I got up from the floor and took anything we had in the medicine cabinet to clean the mark _he _left. After, I opened the door and made my way to my dad's room when I heard his voice.

"Gwen? God, I wish you were here. I don't know what to do." He said. He sat on his bed and he was crying now. I never saw my dad cry before. "Our girl's in trouble."

"Dad?" I was crying now and he held out his arms and pulled me into a hug. I wish I was 5 again, when feeling this way wouldn't have made me feel as pathetic. "I'm so sorry." I wasn't sure what I was sorry for. Maybe for the things I've said to him or how I have been acting.

"Don't be sorry."

"I don't want him to die, dad."

"He's in good hands, you don't have to worry about that." H said softy. But I did have to worry, cause at any minute Freddy could decide to take him. Doctors couldn't help him now.

After I calmed down I felt so exhausted I lied down on his bed. He kissed my forehead and I closed my eyes. It felt so good to just close my eyes. When he left the room though, I opened them. I knew I couldn't go to sleep. I had to fight it. I made sure my dad was downstairs and I walked to my room. I went over to my desk drawer to find a pack of caffeine pills that I had bought for a time like this when I couldn't run on just coffee. I popped two in my mouth in hopes that would do the trick. I went downstairs to find my dad in the kitchen making sandwiches for lunch.

"Dad?" I said. He turned around.

"I thought you would be asleep. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, I'm starving." I told him, and took a seat at the table. "Dad…can we see Quentin later."

"Honey, I think we should wait until tomorrow. Give his dad a chance to cool down. Going back today wouldn't be such a good idea." He looked hesitant before he spoke again. "Nancy, I would really like it if you would see Sarah. She called the house…I know you didn't go to your last appointment."

"Dad, I'm not crazy."

"That isn't what I'm saying. I just want you to talk to someone…you don't talk to me."

"What do you want to know? I told you everything last night."

"Nancy…" He seemed reluctant to believe me, but I had to make him.

"It's why Quentin is in a coma right now! I can prove it to you!"

I almost wondered if I should have said that, but there wasn't any other way. I'm sure if I can pull someone out of a dream…I had to be able to pull someone into a dream.


End file.
